First couple eliminated on Season 22 of Dancing With The Stars

Who stood under the red light for the first time in Season 22 on Dancing With The Stars? Photo: ABC

SAN DIEGO, March 28, 2016 – The party was over Monday night for the first couple eliminated in Season 22 of “Dancing With The Stars.” With three couples sitting near each other at the bottom of the leaderboard, it would be up to the fans who was saved and who ended their time in the ballroom.

If you want to learn who left, scroll down to the bottom of our column.

All 12 celebrities got another chance to dance in Week 2 for Latin Night, one of the show’s favorite themes. All couples performed one of the Latin ballroom styles: Rumba, Salsa, Samba, Paso Doble, Cha Cha, or Argentine Tango. Two weeks’ worth of judges scores and last week’s fan votes determined who would be eliminated.

Reviews in order of appearance on the show:

Jodie Sweetin and Keo Motsepe performed the Samba to kick off the show. Jodie showed less nerves than she did in Week 1 and her performance improved. The judges reminded her not to think so much and tense up. She was rewarded with an improved score of 21 points.

Marla Maples and Tony Dovoloni danced an Argentine Tango the judges praised for its lines and class. Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman both wanted to see a little more intimacy and passion, but Carrie Ann Inaba liked Marla’s classy approach. It scored 20 points, slightly down from last week.

Geraldo Rivera had nowhere to go but up from Week 1. For their Tito Puente Salsa routine, Geraldo and Edyta Sliwinska dressed up as Donald and Miliania Trump. Len Goodman said to Geraldo, “You’re the sort of person that is great on Dancing With The Stars. No dance background, but you come out here and give it your best shot.” There was lots of enterainment value, and a slight improvement in dance performance, but very slight and not enough to change their score from last week, another 13 points.

What a contrast to the Salsa performed by Paige VanZant. Due to Mark Ballas injuring his back, troupe member Alan Bertsen stepped in and learned the routine on two hours’ notice. The judges praise Paige for her attack, ease and strength of movement. As Alan is slightly bigger than Mark it might have been a benefit and confidence booster. The pair’s sizzling routine scored 24 points, up from last week. Len Goodman called it the best routine of Season 22 so far.

Pittsburgh Steleler wide receiver Antonio Brown and Sharna Burgess drew the Rumba, which is always a difficult assignment for the male stars with its flowing hip movement. It was a real constrast from his wildness last week. The judges encouraged Antonio, saying “There’s a dancer inside of you, with Sharna’s help it will come through.” The judges said he needs to develop a little more finesse. They scored 19 points.

Gloria Estefan showed her support for Kim Fields and Sasha Farber. Photo: Twitter

Kim Fields and Sasha Farber got encouragement for their Salsa to “Conga” from a big fan, Gloria Estefan. Kim’s performance skills help her entertain, but she had a few choreography problems. Bruno Tonioli encouraged her to just push through and all judges complimented her improvement. They scored 19 points also.

Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd continue to impress. Their Rumba contained an illegal lift, pointed out by the judges, and Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli both found it too hectic. Carrie Ann Inaba disagreed, saying she loved the chemistry. Because of being penalized for the lift, they received a score of 20 points, down one from last week but still near the top of the leaderboard.

Mischa Barton seems to be a victim of her nerves. She managed to wear a brighter smile in her Cha Cha with Artem Chigventsev, but had choreography problems and complained the music by the orchestra sounded different than their rehearsal recording. The judges tried to encourage her and she did improve from the previous week. Her score dropped one point to 15 points.

NFL star Von Miller of the Denver Broncos was excited his light hearted Cha Cha with partner Witney Carson scored better than his rival Antonio Brown. The judges loved his attitude but didn’t like the lack of Cha Cha content and the rough edges. It was good enough for 20 points.

Wanya Morris and Lindsay Arnold picked up right where they left off leading in Week 1 to tie for the lead in Week 2 with a Salsa Len Goodman described as “Full of energy, full of excitement, and I’m full of praise!” Wanya commits to the movement and he’s also big enough to lift his pro partner Lindsay with easy. He said he’s already lost 15 pounds, but told host Erin Andrews it’s more about looking the part. He looks like a winner with a score of 24 points.

Doug Flutie might not be on top of the leaderboard, but he and Karina Smirnoff had the biggest improvement in Week 2 with their strong Paso Doble. “Doug Flutie is back in the game!” said Carrie Ann Inaba, who loved the power and how Doug took ownership of the routine. Doug said he had fun, and Karina said “We did everyting we wanted to do with the Paso. Now it’s up to America.” They scored 20 points.

Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy closed the show with a Samba that won compliments for its proper content. The judge continue to praise Ginger’s great attitude and smiling even when she made a few mistakes. The pair scored 21 points, down from last week but still a strong performance.

Geraldo River and Edyta Sliwinska were at the bottom of the leaderboard for a second straight week. Photo: ABC

As expected last week’s three lowest scoring couples ended up in jeopardy of going home. And as expected, it was the couple at the bottom both weeks who went home, Geraldo Rivera and Edyta Sliwinska. Geraldo said after learning he would go home, “If I didn’t get eliminated tonight I would have demanded a recount,” laughing. During the All-Access show, he encouraged other Baby Boomers between 50 and 70 to get up and move.

“Dancing With the Stars” returns for Week 3 with the theme “Most Memorable Year,” April 4 at 8 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time on the ABC Television Network.

Voting information: Viewers may cast their votes for their favorite couples via phone on Monday nights during the show and up to one hour after the end of the DWTS broadcast in each time zone. Online voting at www.ABC.com and on Facebook at https://apps.facebook.com/votedwts/ is open for 24 hours, beginning from the start of each episode on the East Coast at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and closing at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Tuesday evenings.

Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. She is also a serious boxing fan covering the Sweet Science for Communities. Read more Media Migraine in Communities Digital News. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego. Gayle can be reached via Google +

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Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, MS, APR, is President of the Falcon Valley Group, a San Diego based communications consulting firm. Falkenthal is a veteran award winning broadcast and print journalist, editor, producer, talk host and commentator. She is an instructor at National University in San Diego, and previously taught in the School of Journalism & Media Studies at San Diego State University.